{"id":153354,"date":"2020-01-01T09:50:34","date_gmt":"2020-01-01T14:50:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=153354"},"modified":"2022-04-12T09:19:43","modified_gmt":"2022-04-12T13:19:43","slug":"december-2019-viewing-diary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=153354","title":{"rendered":"December 2019 Viewing Diary"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood<\/strong><\/em> (2019; d. Marielle Heller)
\nThis is a really good film. Thoughtful and deep. I love Marielle Heller’s work so much and so psyched to see whatever it is she chooses to do next. <\/p>\n

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The Farewell<\/strong><\/em> (2019; d. Lulu Wang)
\nA phenomenal film. Awkwafina gives one of my favorite performances of the year, and Zhao Shuzhen is equally excellent. They’re all good though. This is my kind of movie. A family ensemble. I was incredibly moved by this film. <\/p>\n

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Little Women<\/strong><\/em> (2019; d. Greta Gerwig)
\nI think it’s very strong. And I’m a Little Women<\/i> snob. Katharine Hepburn is still the ultimate Jo, and Cukor’s vision of Jo is still the most subversive (as subversive as the book), but Gerwig has structured her version in a very interesting way, and it really really works. Best of all is the re-thinking of Amy March. Florence Pugh steals the film. Gerwig’s from California, and none of the actresses playing the March sisters are American, so … I miss the staunch upright New England feeling, so important to the book – the New England THING is very specific. Puritan roots. If this makes me sound provincial, then I’ll just throw this Thomas Hardy quote out there, which comes in handy: “A certain provincialism is invaluable. It is the essence of individuality, and is largely made up of that crude enthusiasm without which no great thoughts are thought, no great deeds done.” Katharine Hepburn had New England coursing through her veins. These things matter. Still. I thought the film was lovely and I loved Gerwig’s innovations! Her adaptation deserves all the praise it’s getting. <\/p>\n

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Supernatural<\/em><\/strong>, Season 15, episode 7 “Last Call” episode 7 (2019; d. Amyn Kaderali)
\nPeople were very upset about this one on Twitter. But I liked a lot of this. Yes, Dean suddenly singing is whatevs, very silly … but once upon a time in Hollywood, actors who could sing were given the chance to show their stuff in whatever vehicle they were in. (See: all of Elvis’ movies. See: Ricky Nelson in Rio Bravo<\/i>). So I didn’t mind him bursting into song. The main thing I enjoyed in this episode was its sense of roominess. Lots of conversations. But … there’s always something “off” now. The “Eye of the Tiger” reference made me see RED. The way John is talked about. It’s lacking in ambiguity. They’ve let the power out of the father figure symbol. This team has no idea how to deal with symbols, how to mine them for drama, context, thematic significance. Also: Castiel bringing the Russian oligarch into the bunker<\/i>. Castiel: STOP HELPING. That whole thing shows how lazy everyone is over there. Rowena’s gone. So now Castiel – an angel – can’t figure anything out on his own, and has to call in a skeezy Russian oligarch who has already proven himself untrustworthy. Like … do they think we’re stupid? Do they think Castiel fans are stupid? If I were a Castiel fan, I would be so pissed off. That whole plotline also showed the devastating effect Rowena has had on the show. As long as they had her on speed dial, they had a built in deus-ex-machina. Without her, they don’t know what to do. It’s also annoying that Sam is a damsel in distress. Here would be my fix: If they are going to develop this Eileen-Sam thing, which it seems like they are … then why not have Castiel “go find help” (in other words: leave the episode) … and have EILEEN be the one who has to try to save Sam, all on her own, using her own smarts and knowledge, but also deepening her connection to Sam? What if she made a “bad deal” to save Sam? Just like Dean once did? This would loop Eillen into the Winchester Belljar, and give the whole Arc some Oomph. I realize there are people who don’t want Eileen there at all, who resent her presence, but these tend to be the “the brothers always choose each other” people … people who hated Season 8 in other words (lol), whereas I see a lot of value in those moments where the brothers choose otherwise. It’s in those conflicts where we get some really rich relationship stuff. Anyway, if they’re trying to develop Eileen-Sam, then why not have HER be the one to try to save Sam? This would invest us in the two of them more, as opposed to having them say “we had too many margaritas last night” – and then not show us that scene?? Like … what the hell, amateur hour. They take WAY too much for granted. <\/p>\n

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Bombshell<\/em><\/strong> (2019; d. Jay Roach)
\nI don’t understand the choice to use such extreme prosthetics on Charlize Theron’s face. It’s so distracting. She has Megyn Kelly’s voice DOWN. There are things here I liked (Kate McKinnon is one) and things I didn’t. Like: these women were complicit in a system that abused them. This is a thing. This is what happens. The interrogation of the system itself isn’t really present, and it’s a strange choice. It’s a strange movie. <\/p>\n

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Knives Out<\/strong><\/em> (2019; d. Rian Johnson)
\nThis is such a blast. See it! <\/p>\n

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Black Christmas<\/strong><\/em> (1974; d. Bob Clark)
\nThe 1974 version is a classic. There’s a review out there of the new adaptation, which seems to miss how political the original is. Typical. The writer – a young woman – needs to pump up the new one as a “political” movie, a commentary on “how we live right now”, and so she needs to downgrade the original in order to make her case. Lazy. She somehow misses entirely that it came out in 1974, and one of its main plots has to do with abortion. Roe v. Wade was in 1973. The whole damn THING is political. What is going to happen to us if we don’t do our due diligence to understand even our most RECENT history? I love this movie. Margot Kidder! Andrea Martin!<\/p>\n

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Dark Waters<\/strong><\/em> (2019; d. Todd Haynes)
\nThis is really good. I love “individual goes after a corrupt corporation” movies. And this is the SECOND movie Mark Ruffalo has made about the evil of Du Pont. <\/p>\n

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Black Christmas<\/strong><\/em> (2019; d. Sophia Takal)
\nI’m not crazy about the remake, although Sophia Takal’s visual style is always fascinating, beautiful and ominous simultaneously. I’ve been a fan of Takal’s for years. I wrote about her for Film Comment<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Green<\/strong><\/em> (2011; d. Sophia Takal)
\nSophia Takal’s first film. It’s amazing. You should see it. <\/p>\n

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The Irishman<\/strong><\/em> (2019; d. Martin Scorsese)
\nMy second time. I think it’s a masterpiece. <\/p>\n

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\nSupernatural<\/em><\/strong>, Season 15, episode 8 “Our Father, Who Aren’t in Heaven” (2019; d. Richard Speight Jr.)
\nI was blown away by Jake Abel’s work here. There are fans who are like “we don’t care about Adam, we hate Adam” … what’s this WE you’re talking about? I have always thought Adam had huge potential, and always thought the show should loop back around to deal with it. I was super happy with how they did it, and thrilled at the strength of Jake Abel’s work (not surprised, though: he’s been doing amazing work in the DECADE since he first appeared on Supernatural<\/i>). This is (or was) a show about family, about the nightmare that is family, so I really loved the space given for this unfinished business. Abel acted Misha Collins off the damn screen.<\/p>\n

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Always Shine<\/strong><\/em> (2016; d. Sophia Takal)
\nGod, I love this film. I originally reviewed it for Ebert<\/a>, which started me on my Takal fascination. I wrote about the film at length in my column at Film Comment<\/i> (link above). <\/p>\n

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The Great Escape<\/strong><\/em> (1962; d. John Sturges)
\nWhat a classic. <\/p>\n

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Eyes Wide Shut<\/strong><\/em> (1999; d. Stanley Kubrick)
\nSuch a strange eerie movie. Like a dream. Kim Morgan’s piece on it<\/a> is the one to read.<\/p>\n

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Reversal of Fortune<\/strong><\/em> (1990; d. Barbet Schroeder)
\nI haven’t seen this in years. I saw it during its original release with a group of friends, all of whom are Rhode Islanders, and we saw it IN Rhode Island. We knew this case inside and out. We were sick of our state being associated with it. There’s a line in the film – “Everyone knows Rhode Island is the most corrupt state in America” … and the audience burst into laughter and applause. These are my people. It was very weird, because the von Bulows weren’t “one of us” … they were “Newport people.” A whole different world. They brought infamy down upon us. It’s a hell of a film, really. As Mitchell says: “Stylized realism.” A bit of hagiography there with Alan Dershowitz, though, which is kind of gross in retrospect. He’s the man of the people, playing basketball with his students, even having an affair with one of them. Watching this movie makes me so ANGRY on Annabella Sciorra’s behalf. She’s so GOOD. <\/p>\n

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Cats<\/em><\/strong> (2019; d. Tom Hooper)
\nOh dear. Listen, it’s ridiculous, but so was the source material. My review at Ebert<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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Klute<\/em><\/strong> (1971; d. Alan Pakula)
\nEveryone is working at such a high and intuitive level here, it’s dazzling. A perfect movie. I took an acting workshop with Vivian Nathan, who plays the psychiatrist. Just FYI. <\/p>\n

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Christopher Strong<\/strong><\/em> (1933; d. Dorothy Arzner)
\nThis helped cement Hepburn’s stardom. There was nothing else like her out there. She was a unique figure in cinema. Still is. She’s so …. strange. And Christopher Strong<\/i> lets her be strange, even down to her costume as a moth. This makes me think of Camille Paglia’s thoughts on Hepburn as a “Diana” figure, an “Artemis” figure. It helps “place” her, but also helps show why she is so un-placeable, in general. <\/p>\n

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The Magnificent Seven<\/strong><\/em> (1960; d. John Sturges)
\nPoor Yul Brynner, having to endure Steve McQueen’s shameless scene-stealing! But Brynner is compelling all on his own. There’s something fascinating about watching all this unabashed peacocking male ego up onscreen!<\/p>\n

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Bullitt<\/em><\/strong> (1968; d. Peter Yates)
\nInteresting thing. I mentioned this at Christmas dinner. Ben, who saw the film in its initial release, and probably never once since then, said, “There’s that moment before the car chase where the guy puts on his seat belt …” It’s been 50 years since he saw the movie and he remembers a moment that specifically. THAT’S a good movie. <\/p>\n

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Used Cars<\/em><\/strong> (1980; d. Robert Zemeckis)
\nGod, I love this heartless movie. <\/p>\n

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It’s a Wonderful Life<\/strong><\/em> (1947; d. Frank Capra)
\nThis is a movie about a suicidal man. It’s amazing it has become a family holiday classic. <\/p>\n

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Cluny Brown<\/strong><\/em> (1946; d. Ernst Lubitsch)
\nFinally got around to watching the Criterion release of this classic Lubitsch film. Jennifer Jones! Turned on by plumbing! So wonderful! One of the “extras” on the DVD is a fascinating and fun conversation between Farran Nehme and Molly Haskell about Lubitsch’s films. <\/p>\n

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Sullivan’s Travels<\/strong><\/em> (1941; d. Preston Sturges)
\nJoel McCrea and Veronica Lake together … you kind of can’t beat it. It’s a perfect pairing. She’s so wonderful. Her look is so specific, but if you only saw what she LOOKED like, you might not guess the earthy quality of her acting. She’s very very real. <\/p>\n

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Dance, Girl, Dance<\/strong><\/em> (1940; d. Dorothy Arzner)
\nWonderful. Lucille Ball kills it. <\/p>\n

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The Bride Wore Red<\/strong><\/em> (1937; d. Dorothy Arzner)
\nJoan Crawford is Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman<\/i>. Even down to the waiter giving her tips on which silverware to use. This is classic Joan Crawford: girl from wrong side of the tracks, making her way up into another level. And I love the relationship between her and the hotel maid. It’s very real. Complex. <\/p>\n

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Get Your Man<\/strong><\/em> (1927; d. Dorothy Arzner)
\nThere’s a very funny scene at the end where Clara Bow kicks up a total racket, tossing furniture around, jumping on the bed, pulling down lamps, all to cause a scene on purpose, to draw people to the room, to create a scandal. It’s such a funny sequence. She’s a MANIAC! People talk about a ‘generation gap’ now … I don’t think anything can compare to the break in tradition that was the 1920s flapper girl. There’s a reason the rise of the flapper coincided with the rise of the Snooty Dowager Archetype. The horror must have been unbelievable. No way to bridge that gap. <\/p>\n

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The Thomas Crown Affair<\/strong><\/em> (1968; d. Norman Jewison)
\nThis is a very weird movie. It can only be seen in the context of its time, which is: Steve McQueen is the biggest star in the world, let’s create a movie where we revel in him, in his parts, his eyes, his mouth, his chest, let’s isolate those parts, and then freeze-frame those parts, so everyone gets the point that that IS the point. Listen. I’m not complaining. <\/p>\n

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Craig’s Wife<\/strong><\/em> (1936; d. Dorothy Arzner)
\nThis is apparently based on a novel – and it was re-made again the 1950s, with Joan Crawford (it’s terrific). Although one could look at this and see it as misogynistic … I actually think it’s a fairly biting critique on what happens when women have limited options. They can become tyrants of domesticity. Listen, I’ve seen it in real life, and you probably have too. Women who treat their husbands like children, and then are shocked – SHOCKED, I tell you – when he strays. Rosalind Russell plays the role here and it’s a fearlessly unlikable performance. John Boles plays “Craig” and he’s a willing dupe, a completely emasculated man, pussy-whipped, if you will. This is the only power she can wield. It’s psychotic, yes, in a Sleeping with the Enemy<\/i> kind of way, where “cleanliness” becomes a weapon, a symbol of madness. Anyway, I think it’s all very interesting. <\/p>\n

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\nThe Mindy Project<\/strong><\/em> Season 2 binge-watch
\nSiobhan and I have been continuing our binge-watch! It’s so much fun! I love the writing, the characters, the madcap-screwball vibe. It’s really really good. Season 2 brings Adam Pally to the fold. I love him!<\/p>\n

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Last Train from Gun Hill<\/strong><\/em> (1959; d. John Sturges)
\nI had never seen this before. It’s really REALLY good. <\/p>\n

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Never So Few<\/strong><\/em> (1959; d. John Sturges)
\nNotable because it’s Steve McQueen’s first big moment in the sun. He plays a small-ish role so he can’t really steal it – but the film misses him whenever he’s not onscreen. The love story here stinks. <\/p>\n

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\nThe Cincinnati Kid<\/strong><\/em> (1965; d. Norman Jewison)
\nCo-stars include Tuesday Weld, Ann-Margaret and Joan Blondell, all of whom appeared opposite Elvis at one point. This is a really fun movie. And there’s something really moving about seeing Joan Blondell and Edward G. Robinson acting together … old Warner Brothers colleagues, together again. <\/p>\n

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The Blob<\/strong><\/em> (1958; d. Irvin Yeaworth)
\nIt’s so good. The theme song! The gleam of those cars. The inky-black backgrounds. All those bright colors and shadows. <\/p>\n

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The End of the World Cult<\/strong><\/em> (2007; d. Ben Anthony)
\nI feel so bad for these people, especially the children. They are so unbelievably brainwashed. There’s a closeup of the face of one of his “witnesses” … this comes early on, and she looks completely insane, as she stares up at him. She looks, like, Sandra Good insane. She believes totally. When the end of the world doesn’t come, the whole cult walks around at midnight calling out, “Liberty!” and it’s such a crock of shit, but they buy it because they have to. It’s textbook. I’ve been trying to figure out what happened to some of those kids. They haunt me. It’s amazing the access the filmmaker was given! <\/p>\n

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Junior Bonner<\/strong><\/em> (1972; d. Sam Peckinpah)
\nA weird movie, but not in a bad way. Nothing really happens. There’s some rodeo scenes. There’s a romance, but barely. There’s an extended fight scene in a bar which is very funny. Peckinpah slows things down, intercuts the action, freeze-frames, etc., for no discernible reason – it’s a pretty straightforward story. It’s filled with great actors – McQueen, Robert Preston, Ida Lupino – and it’s amazing to watch Steve McQueen – that most isolated of men – appear in a family drama. Like, he has parents. A brother. Most of his characters seem like they’re foundlings. McQueen and Lupino are completely believable as mother and son, if you can believe that. She’s got the same steely toughness. <\/p>\n

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Gun Fight at the OK Corral<\/strong><\/em> (1957; d. John Sturges)
\nIt’s a story told over and over and over again. Who knows why these legends sink into the collective psyche, why a gunfight over a little unimportant feud takes on such enormous significance – especially when said gunfight lasted only 30 seconds! It has to do with the outsized characters involved, I’m sure. Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, etc. Here, in John Sturges’ version, the myth is de-mythologized. Burt Lancaster as Earp and Kirk Douglas as Holliday. Two men teaming up, men different from one another. There’s a hard edge here that I really like. We’re moving into the era of de-mythologization in Westerns, with the Spaghetti Western and everything else … Sturges’ films are important precursors. <\/p>\n

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The Source Family<\/strong><\/em> (2012; d. Jodi Wille, Maria Demopoulos)
\nI would not have fit in in the 1960s and 70s. I like my individuality too much. This “let’s all be one” thing is a recipe for mind-control, predators, grifters. Many of these people are still true believers. Fascinating. Weirdly – with all my Steve McQueen viewing this month – McQueen and Jim Baker were buddies. <\/p>\n

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Leaving Bountiful<\/strong><\/em> (2002; CBC\u2019s The Fifth Estate)
\nA documentary about the polygamous sect in Canada, and Debbie Palmer’s escape and advocacy for other victims. I feel so bad for everyone involved. Well, not the perpetrators. This doc was years ago, and the chickens are coming home to roost now. There have been some convictions for child trafficking, etc. Sick disgusting people. <\/p>\n

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Don’t F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer<\/strong><\/em> (2019; d. Mark Lewis)
\nThis is unbelievably messed up. The only part I remember is body parts being delivered to members of Canadian political parties. Then I stopped paying attention. Looking at the year involved – 2012-13, I know why I stopped paying attention. My life was falling apart. So here’s a documentary telling the full story. It blew my mind. I almost didn’t get past the first episode. I stopped watching multiple times. Cruelty to animals is involved. And although they don’t SHOW it, they show enough, and I wish I had not seen it. Glad that motherfucker was caught. Sick weirdo. <\/p>\n

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Hunting Luka Magnotta<\/strong><\/em> (2014; CBC\u2019s The Fifth Estate)
\nAfter binging the Netflix doc, of course I went down the rabbit hole with this awful awful person. There’s so much footage of him!! Came across this documentary from, again, The Fifth Estate. What a cheery way to close out this dumpster fire of a year. <\/p>\n

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A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019; d. Marielle Heller) This is a really good film. Thoughtful and deep. I love Marielle Heller’s work so much and so psyched to see whatever it is she chooses to do next. The … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2627,4,31],"tags":[2576,2097,391,1996,2544,2493,2593,2546,355,526,2064,2499,2548,2062,129,2164,2635,235,2181,1508,602,2560,366,2372,2658,2631,969,460,2263,1286,2662,2637],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153354"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=153354"}],"version-history":[{"count":56,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153354\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":154254,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153354\/revisions\/154254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=153354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=153354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=153354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}